Introduction
Practical activities connected with the management of a business organization are often associated not only with monitoring current issues and asset allocation but also finding ways of solving problems. The effectiveness of leadership work is largely based on the ability to take the necessary steps to timely eliminate obstacles and weaknesses that affect productivity.
As an example of analysis, the Vivint Solar company will be used, and its activities will be subject to assessment and detailed discussion regarding the existing challenges and potential solutions. Various aspects of organizational work, including corporate culture, the quality of teamwork, and other nuances, play an essential role in forming highly productive management approaches.
Organization Description and Issues to Resolve
Vivint Solar is an energy company that specializes in the supply of solar-powered systems for residential maintenance. According to the organization’s official website, it has been operating since 2011, and its market success is due to environmentally friendly resources compared with those fossil fuels that damage ecology (“We’re Using Solar Power”). Solar panels installed and maintained by Vivint Solar contribute to avoiding harmful emissions and help people to develop the alternative ways of energy consumption.
Nevertheless, despite the market recognition and the steady growth of interest in the company’s products, some questions arise that cause concern to the management of the corporation. In particular, as Smith argues, these nuances relate to the fall in the share of stocks and the difficulty in sustaining competition with similar organizations. To solve these problems, the company’s responsible persons should take appropriate steps and do everything possible so that the proposed solutions could help correct the situation and prevent the loss of the market share.
Analysis of Current Corporate Culture
Vivint Solar is a relatively young organization, and its work in the market is largely based on the modern principles of the corporate culture. As noted on the company’s official website, the main mission of the corporation is to offer an alternative to expensive and environmentally harmful energy resources, thereby offering a new practice (“We’re Using Solar Power”). However, an approach based on the innovative technology of work requires the utmost attention to managing available resources, including not only personnel nuances but also financial issues.
According to Karcz, the company “has blended service and equipment costs together.” This principle of organizing activities may have potentially negative results if there is no relevant practice for sustaining asset allocation. Accordingly, the management of Vivint Solar is obliged to monitor all operational processes to prevent a decline in market positions. Nevertheless, according to the results of the assessment, an insufficiently competent control policy has caused a stock drop.
The corporate culture of the company is based on the use of modern management principles in a competitive market environment. The leaders of the organization maintain all operational processes openly and do not resort to strict control and punishment methods (“We’re Using Solar Power”). At the same time, the focus on working with the staff may be the reason for the lack of an effective policy of control over production results. Therefore, additional attention is to be paid to external operating activities.
Areas of Weakness
By the assessment of Vivint Solar, the main weakness and, at the same time, the threat is weak opposition to ever-growing competition. The analysis of the organization’s activities provides an opportunity to see that “stable profitability has increased the number of players in the industry over last two years” (“Vivint Solar, Inc.”). This, in turn, leads to the loss of customer interest and fewer orders. A possible cause of these problems may be inefficient management practices under which the solution of internal issues is of higher priority than external ones.
Also, as another weakness, a limited sales volume is worth mentioning. According to the SWOT analysis, the trend of isolating the US economy limits the company’s product sales, which is a limitation (“Vivint Solar, Inc.”). Despite the organization’s designated missions that assume a constant increase in the sphere of influence, the supply of specialized equipment is carried out within the southern regions of the country (“We’re Using Solar Power”).
Such a policy may be due to management concerns about entering the international market. Therefore, starting from the aforementioned problems, leadership activities should be focused not only on internal but also external operational issues.
Potential Solutions
The weakness of Vivint Solar’s stock due to weak resistance to competition needs to be strengthened. According to Smith, the company’s management is to increase investor confidence and convince them that the organization can meet consumer demand and increase sales. As a potential solution to this issue, the leaders of the corporation should appoint responsible persons and create special teams to conduct analytical work and identify the most optimal ways out of the crisis.
Special bonuses, promotional programs for regular customers, and other lucrative offers may be a successful alternative. In addition, the Vivint Solar management can undertake additional work to evaluate Tesla’s performance as its main competitor (Smith). These steps will help support the business of the organization, expand the sphere of influence by selling products in a wider area, and restore consumer confidence.
Executive Summary
The organizational culture of modern enterprises, which implies effective management practices, is a significant aspect of operational activities. As a company for analysis, the work of the Vivint Solar corporation has been analyzed, and the key aspects of the assessment are the difficulties and issues caused by insufficiently effective leadership solutions. The evaluation of this organization’s activities may allow identifying the most significant barriers and the ways of overcoming them.
The main provisions of the corporate culture of Vivint Solar are based on team building to achieve a common goal and promote the use of alternative solar energy. In this regard, issues relating to the external work of the company arise. The market competition created by other corporations, in particular, Tesla causes a stock drop. The lack of an effective control policy leads to the loss of market positions.
These weaknesses are significant obstacles to expanding the sphere of the corporation’s influence and its worldwide recognition. The trend associated with isolating the state economy does not allow Vivint Solar to distribute its products internationally, which reduces potential income. Also, increasing interest in competitive brands creates challenges and is the reason for the decline in consumer interest in the goods of the organization in question.
As a potentially successful solution, the reorganization of managerial activity may be a valuable intervention. The Vivint Solar leadership should designate responsible persons for conducting analytical work on assessing the preferences of the target audience. Bonus and promotional offers may be useful and profitable retaining practices. Also, the leaders of the organization are to conduct additional activities to review the success of Tesla, the main competitor, to identify key differences and, thereby, expand their sphere of influence.
References
Anthony Karcz, With Tesla Solar Floundering, Is Vivint Solar The Answer?, 2018, Web.
Rich Smith, Why Did Vivint Solar Stock Drop 6%?, 2019, Web.
Vivint Solar, Inc. SWOT Analysis/Matrix. No Date. Web.